July 8, 2013

10 Spray Paint Tips: What You Never Knew About Spray Paint

Spray paint is my favorite way to stretch my decorating budget, and over the years I've used it on just about everything (like it's getting ridiculous). So, today I've compiled a list of my top 10 ways that you can use spray paint to transform items in your home.Enjoy!

Let's get started.

#1. Spray paint small accessories

As a reformed hoarder of thrift store junk, this is probably my favorite way to use spray paint. Just take any plain jane trinket, none of which will match if they come from a thrift store, and cover them in spray paint. It's a great way to save money on decor accessories and it almost always works.

In the above example I used some antique white spray paint to update 2 bronze candlesticks and a green vase. In the below picture, I used my favorite silver spray paint to update a mirrored tray, a vase, and the frame on that artwork.

#2. Spray paint outdated doorknobs

When we first moved into our house, all of our doorknobs had an outdated brass finish. So, rather than spend hundreds to replace them (which wasn't really an option at the time), I spray painted them with my favorite oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

#2. Spray paint light fixtures.

Over the past few years, I've slowly replaced most of the outdated light fixtures in our house. To save money, I searched local thrift stores and craigslist for light fixtures that had a great shape, and then I spray painted them. Here's the before of a $5 thrift store chandelier I bought.

And here's what it looked like after I spray painted it with this silver spray paint (affiliate link) and hung it in our office.

I did the same thing to the first chandelier I ever hung in my office. I found an old brass chandelier on eBay, and spray painted it white. I also added strings of crystal beads to it, and created my own little crystal chandelier. See the original post here.

That was one of the first blog posts I ever made.

Embarrassing.

#3. Spray paint lamps

Spray paint is also a great way to update an old lamp. I found this one at the thrift store for just a few dollars, but it was horribly dated. So I spray painted the base silver and added a new drum shade with a black ribbon hotglued around the top and bottom.

I also recently spray painted two thrift store lamps in our guest bedroom a high gloss white. It's such a great solution if you don't have $50-$200 to spend on a lamp.

#4. Spray paint hardware

If you don't love the original hardware on a piece of furniture (or in your kitchen/bath), you can easily update it with a little spray paint. For instance, I updated the brassy pulls on my blue dresser with a little spray paint trick I learned.

To get them to look a little more dimensional, I sprayed them first with Rustoleum pure gold, let that dry, finely sanded each handle, then added a little Rustoleum Bright Coat Chrome (affiliate links). The gold gets into all the deep grooves, and the silver kind of highlights the raised parts.

I also love oil rubbed bronze for hardware, too. It's really versatile, and goes well with both gold and silver accents. I recently used it on our media console hardware.

#5. Spray paint frames

Being willing to spray paint a frame opens up endless possibilities while thrifting. You can completely ignore the current color of items, and just pick stuff up based on the shape. Nearly every mirror or frame in our house has come from a thrift store or yard sale, and most have gotten spray painted. One of my favorite techniques when spray painting a frame is to spray some of the deep grooves black first, and then go over it with silver spray paint. I used this trick on mirror frame in the below picture.

You can even make your own frame out of some scrap wood and then spray paint it, like I did on my DIY gold leaf art.

#6. Spray paint stripes

This is one of my favorite spray paint techniques, combining spray paint and painter's tape to create stripes. I did this on my DIY jewelry organizer, and it turned out pretty cool.

#7. Spray paint furniture.

Spray painting furniture is an easy way to update a piece without tons of effort. It works best on smaller furniture like end tables or chairs. For example, I spray painted our kitchen barstools silver and they've held up perfectly for years.

Another example is this filing cabinet. I spray painted the frame a high gloss black and then used chalkboard paint on each drawer front.

I also spray painted this rocking chair dark brown to mimic an espresso wood tone.

#8. Spray paint curtain rods I had a bunch of outdated brass curtain rods in our master bedroom, and rather than replace them, I just spray painted them with some oil rubbed bronze spray paint. It was a great solution and saved me probably $50 a window.

#9. Spray paint dated bathroom fixtures

We had a lovely two-toned set of fixtures in our guest bathroom. I absolutely hated them, but couldn't afford to replace them at the time. So, I spray painted everything. And it's has held up perfectly for nearly 2 years now. You can see the details here.

#10. Holiday decor Last year I found tons of ornaments at the thrift store, bought about 100 for less then $2, took them home and spray painted them to suit my needs. I made a bunch of silver ones for my ornament wreath and some white ones for my tree.It was so easy to do, too. Just use the box they come in to prop them up while you spray paint them.

I did something similar for Halloween, too. I bought a bunch of plastic pumpkins at the dollar store, spray painted them silver, and used them for decoration. See details here.

Over the years, I've learned a few things about the different spray paint products available, and I've used all sorts of different brands. My favorites are Rustoleum, Krylon, and Valspar. I prefer the quality of Rustoleum over anything else, but sometimes use Krylon and Valspar as they both have more color options than Rustoleum. The most durable (in my experience) is the Rustoleum Universal. The three in the center (below) are my favorites: Pure Gold, Titanium Silver, and Oil Rubbed Bronze. The Titanium Silver is more of a brushed nickel silver and is great for almost anything. When I'm in need of a shinier chrome silver, my go-to is Rustoleum Bright Coat (far left). It has a gorgeous shiny finish. My favorite white is the Rustoleum Painter's Touch Gloss White. That stuff is amazing for little accessories...it seriously gives a flawless, ceramic-like finish. (All links are affiliate links.)

48 comments:

Wow! This post is great timing. I'm planning to paint my 15 year old outdoor iron furniture this week. The white paint has oxidized and comes off on your clothes when you sit. Also flaked off in some spots. I was wondering about using a primer and will definitely do that now. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks and have a great day!Christinehttp://antiquenehomes.blogspot.com/

Seriously brilliant! I never would have thought to spray paint ornaments and some of the other things! Your brain is very creative- either that or it's the paint fumes. :) I seriously had that punch line in my head and had to think of a delivery. It's 1:30am, that was the best I could do. :)

Giving it a second go on my scratched doorknobs with your advice and tips. About halfway through after using the real orb spray paint and letting them cure longer, so far so good......Thanks for the inspiration!

Yes, yes, yes! I don't like the textured tiny dots finish I sometimes get when I spray paint - do you know what I'm doing that causes that? I use the good Rustoleum stuff. Also as an FYI you can spray paint picture mats! I get frames with mats from the thrift store,take out the ugly art,and spray to get a black frame with a white mat. So much cheaper and more awesome. Also... "normal people store", hahahah!

I just went thru your blog of spray paint, and I am inspired. I guess I'm so used to Modge Podge and glue guns that I forgot the third part in the trinity. And to that I offer up my apologies. Love your sight. Keep it coming.Hunny

Love this post! I am also a big fan of paint, all kinds, but spray paint never ceases to amaze me. Rustoleum is my fave, too, but I buy other brands for the colors just like you. I haven't used the really shiny silver before, but will give it a try!-Revi

This post is perfect timing for me. I just spray painted my first project. Bought cheap spray paint to see how it turned out; and its ok. You can check it out here and let me know what you think (if you like and/or have time)... http://blondiesbargains.blogspot.com/2013/07/restyled-thrifted-retro-artichoke.html I would appreciate your feedback and I am definitely heeding your advice in this post. Love it!

Your comment about cheap paint is soooo true! I used Dollar store paint on a few projects and was very disapointed! Also when spraying foam insulation boards (also good for picture frames) the Rustoleum works better than the Valspar (test a sample before spraying the whole piece - learned that the hard way).

I loved this post, Virginia. Hubby and I re-do furniture to sell and have spray painted some pieces before, too. I will definately pin this post for future reference.

Once we re-painted an old white dining table for a bachelor friend with a silver top and black legs. He loved it. We also spray painted a junked dresser we picked up on the curb a high gloss black, replaced the knobs with silver ones, then glued one of those $5 long closet mirrors to the top to disguise the damage it had. Our total investment was less than $45 and we sold the dresser for $150. Not bad for a weekend hobby!

Perfect post!! Answered all of my spray painting questions, thanks Virginia! I am redesigning my living room and spray paint has seriously been an answer to prayer :)Blessings,Jacyhttp://www.jacyleepulford.com

Hi! I've been redoing my room and I would love to use spray paint as a tool for changing the look. However, my mom doesn't want me using it because she says that you inhale a lot of it in the process. What is your experience with that and how do you think I could (partially or fully??) prevent it from happening? Thank you so much! Great post :)

Hi Emily!I just wear a little mask and spray paint all my items outside in the fresh air. That way you don't expose yourself to any of the fumes. You can get a little mask at any hardware store for just a few bucks. Hope that helps! :)

HI! Firstly your blog is super awesome!! Second, I'm planning on spray painting some mirrors, picture frames, and bottles white and I wanted to know which white spray paint you recommend and if I should buy a primer too? There are sooo many options! (matte, flat, satin, gloss... so confusing!)

Spray painting, though it looks so easy to do, does have important factors to consider to achieve that perfect and even coat of paint. The distance of the nozzle to the object you're trying to paint, the size of the nozzle itself, even the length of time you should spend in one area. I am pleased to hear that after some errors while trying to do some spray painting projects, you finally got the hang of it. And what have you got here? Truly beautiful projects! Thank you for sharing what you learned with us and good luck to all of your future projects! Li @ Renewal by Andersen

Hi! I love love love your projects and tips! I see that you said to use a gray primer under dark colors and s white primer under lighter colors. I'm spray painting a chair frame gold and would like it to look as close to real gold leaf as possible. I even saw that krylon has a ruddy brown primer. Any idea which of those (white, gray, brown) would be best to use under metallic gold spray paint (specifically Montana gold "Goldchrome")? Any guidance you have is much appreciated!

You turned on a light bulb in my head! Thank you for the information on which spray paints are best. I have a little entry way table I am going to sand and refinish matte silver. You have given me the courage to tackle this project!

Thank you for a wonderful post! I have about 30 small glass taper candle holders and am wanting to spray paint them to have a "chrome" finish. I've tried Silver Krylon Metallic Spray paint but it's still giving me a silver finish rather than the mirror-like chrome finish. Any suggestions on how to achieve this look? Maybe a certain type of spray paint...Thanks!

This post is amazing! So you never sand anything? I have some white IKEA curtain rods that I'm about to spray paint Rustoleum GOLD but it seems sanding is recommended first. I'd rather skip this step! Your paint never flakes off? I'd love to hear your feedback! Thanks!

Hi Lauren! I've never sanded anything I've spray painted beforehand. I just spray paint it! (I mean, unless there is already some sort of paint or finish chipping off the item, and in that case, you should probably sand it smooth first.) I do occasionally sand afterwards though with super fine grit sandpaper if I've spray painted a wood surface. You don't have to, but it makes it so super smooth and professional looking! Hope that helps! xo

Love your post! I have few dark brown wood frames that I was thinking of spray painting in metallic bronze color. Do you think I need to prime before I spray paint? If yes, can or spray primer? Any suggestions? Love to get your feedback. Thanks!

You are amazing! I had to leave a comment and thank you for sharing all of this, its truly appreciated. And the weirdest thing is, I have the exact same old victorian style dresser as you, and I was going to get rid of it because its old and smelly, but now I am ecstatic to paint it! Thanks again and your home is absolutely beautiful! Camelia

I LOVE this post! I found this while googling the best spray paint to use on a mirror. I think I've discovered a new awesome blog!! Anyway's do you know what kind to use on a mirror?! Here's my project... Dollar store wall cling letter, stick them on the mirror and then spray paint the mirror. Carefully remove stickers and Voila!! Cute picture mirror with a saying on it!!! Hope you can help! XO

Quick and Easy LiveLoveDIY Projects

Search This Blog

LiveLoveDIY
Hi! I'm Virginia! I'm a newlywed & new homeowner who loves decorating and DIY projects. Making something new out of something old is what inspires me! I'm constantly looking for affordable ways to transform our house! This is my place to share inspirations and DIY! Oh, and maybe talk a little bit about my love for very fat cats. View my story